Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), is a molecular cloud that harbors a protostar. It resides about 460 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. The more diffuse blue light and the filamentary structures in the image come from organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while the red at the center of this image is an energized, thick layer of gases and dust that surrounds the protostar. The region in between, which shows up in white, is a mixture of PAHs, ionized gas, and other molecules.

This image includes filters representing 7.7 microns light as blue, 12.8 microns light as green, and 18 microns light as red.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-125

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://stsci.edu/copyright/